


Silver Lining

by CaptainJimothyCarter



Category: Agent Carter (Marvel Short Film), Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-15 19:49:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJimothyCarter/pseuds/CaptainJimothyCarter
Summary: During times of a war torn country, silver linings should be found.





	Silver Lining

“Nothing over here,” Steve called out to Peggy, picking his head up from where he was investigating a pile of rubble. 

His fingers ached from hours of searching piles of the remains of the church. They had heard the church being hit by the bombs over an hour ago. The noise had echoed through the dense forest, shaking the ground under their feet. The Victorian church was destroyed, utterly and truly destroyed. The roof had already caved in by force of the bomb, parts of the walls still standing. Wood, stone, and metal piled to the floor, leaving nowhere for survivors to have hide. Colorful glass littered the floor, a few of the stained windows, half shattered were still standing. If there were any signs of their target, then they were long gone by now, Steve was sure of it. 

“I think…” Peggy began, pausing as she stood up from her crouching position. She dusted her hands together before brushing a curl from her face. It wasn’t very often that the pair got to work together, Steve and the other Howlies being sent on missions that weren't on her end. She gave directions, saw the end result, and prayed they’d come back in one piece. “I think, we can safely move on from here. Hydra is nowhere to be seen and that lead was a dead one.” 

She slowly stepped over to Steve’s side, avoiding the largest piles of rubble. No need to have her demise come from a rusty nail. Her honey coated eyes fell to Steve, trying to resist the urge to frown. 

Steve had been running himself ragged after Barnes’ death. There were bags under his eyes, his skin turned a shade of pale. She knew he didn’t eat nor sleep as much as he should, always wanting to be on lookout or to go to the next mission. The man had a death wish and she understood, but it just hurt to see the man she loved in so much pain. Not many would see him beyond the shield and suit, but Peggy knew. She knew the real man inside - Steve Rogers. She offered what could only be a comforting smile, though those were as rare and few these days. 

Steve attempted to return the smile, but no good came from it. No need to try to force a smile. A shrug came from his broad shoulders as he rubbed at his brow. Soot and dirt coated his face, sweat dripping from his temple. “If anything, the bombs ran them off further into the woods. Dum Dum and the rest should be heading back by now. We can see if they’ve seen anything.” 

Despite having searched what remains of the church and ground, Steve wasn’t giving up. He stepped behind Peggy, a touch to her shoulder as he looked on what remained of the small stage. Nothing, but a pile of wood and rusty nails at this point. It was truly a beautiful church, at least what remained of it. The sun had started to show, now that the smoke had cleared, filtering in through the thick bushels of trees. It streamed down to hit the shattered stained glass, filtering the ground with various colors. now that he could look at it in bright lights. Peggy stood right in the middle, painted in various colors and lights. His hands itched to draw her like this, but instead committed her to memory.

If he had any mind, he’d ask Peggy to marry him in a church like this. A proper one. Where war wasn’t raging on, where they could have their friends and family cheering as they kissed. Peggy was one of the first people he’d love save for his ma. She saw him for him...not the show monkey that many soldiers still hesitated to think he was. As he stepped down from the pile, Steve’s hands brushed over one of his pockets, where two tarnished gold rings sat. They were his ma’s, a hand-me-down that he’d manage to keep before he was forced to move into Bucky’s home. They were from her parents, people from another world that he never got to meet. People from another lifetime. Peggy deserved only the best, but- 

“We will just-Rogers, did you hear me?” Peggy’s voice came across as stern from the other side of the church, her sharp eyes boring into him. “I was saying we could just cross this one off of our list and move on. Howard informed me-”

Peggy stopped mid sentence as she watched Steven Grant Rogers slowly step down from the pile to kneel down in front of her. No warning. Just...kneel. He had no box, wore no suit, and was nothing that her parents had insisted a proper proposal to be. 

Instead, this was a man who was ready to give life and limb for his country, to keep others from having to do the same. A man who had lost so much, but still smiled at each new day. A man who simply hated bullies and couldn’t talk his way into any dance with a gal, but still tried. 

Peggy smiled, a bit watery, yes as she saw the tarnished rings sitting in the middle of his palm. Rings her parents would balk at because they weren’t perfect and didn’t show elegance in their standards. No, Steve Rogers wore his tactical suit, the shield at his feet. His face was covered in soot and dirt, his own baby blue eyes misty as well. His hair greasy from lack of proper time and care to wash it. A black eye that was just starting to heal after taking the butt of a rifle in the face. For a moment, Peggy couldn’t speak as she slowly stepped closer, looking down into those beautiful baby blue eyes. 

“Are you-” 

“Pegs, I-” 

“Steve, we’re at...we are at war. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” 

“That’s all the more reason to get married. This isn’t proper and not how I would ever want to-” 

“It’s perfect. It's perfect for...us. Yes, yes, Steven, I will marry you.” 

Cheers erupted in Peggy’s ears as soon as their lips touched, Steve standing up to put the ring on her finger. A perfect fit. Peggy turned around the second the noise reached her ears, gun in hand and aimed perfectly in the direction it came from. Even Steve’s hand was to his shield, intending to protect her when they realized who it was. 

The Howling Commandos stood around the entrance to the church. Dum Dum wore a smile on his face, a dead deer slung along his back. In the time that it had taken for their incredibly messy proposal to happen, the Commandos had come back from scouting. Peggy lowered the gun as Steve lowered the shield, very much pretending she didn’t have tears in her eyes at this moment. “Well, it's about time you boys made it back.” 

Steve’s fingers found Peggy’s as they walked out of the ruined church to try to find an area to camp for the night. They deserved that much at least, a hot meal, surrounded by a warm fire in the cool night. He tried not to think of the future or what this would mean for them as they sat around the fire, chatting and telling stories until they slowly started to dwindle off to sleep until it was just he and Peggy left around the fire. 

Peggy Carter would later inspected the ring along the dying fire, the way the tarnished metal gleamed. She would later stroke over the engraved sir name along the metal, tracing the word Rogers in her fingertips. And it was with silly hope that she could hope for a future like that for them, to have the silly fairy tale ending where she could marry the brave, stupid, stupid man that had a hatred for bullies and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Peggy Carter would remember this moment forever. She would remember the time Steven Grant Rogers paused in the middle of a war-tarnished church to propose to her and to remind her that there was still some silver linings amongst the horrors of war.


End file.
